Our Fate
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Haseo & Bordeaux AND maybe Alkaid. DEAL WITH THE PAIRING s . Takes place in the Holy Palace final...
1. Our Fate

Bordeaux's eyes narrowed in rage as she lashed out with her AIDA at the man who was the source of all her pain and agony. But he simply leapt over or broke through all of her attacks, never going on the offensive, not even when she accidentally left herself wide open in the first few second of their arena match.

Tears poured from her red eyes as she lashed out at him again."I hate you! You stole it from me, and now I can't get it back!" Haseo's eyes narrowed as he smashed another AIDA spear. "What did I steal from you? I never did anything wrong!" This made her even angrier. And she ran forward and lashed out at him with all her might, but she couldn't hit him. He seemed to blur out of the way each time.

"Yes you did, Damnit! You stole my most valuable thing! The thing that no one has EVER stolen from me! EVER!" Haseo was VERY confused as he leapt back and her attacks nailed Pi, knocking the woman to her knees. Bordeaux was momentarily snapped out of her anger when she realized that Haseo could have blocked the attacks for her.

"Why didn't you help her?" Haseo looke in Pi's direction and spat. "I don't give a damn about her." That reminded Bordeaux and she was after him once more. Haseo snalred as he blocked every blow and still refused to go on the offensive. "What the hell did I steal from you?!"

Bordeaux stopped attacking then and leapt back. He finally noticed her res eyes, dripping with tears. "YOU STOLE MY HEART!" She screamed and millions of AIDA spears shot at him head on. Haseo's eyes widened as he realized what she meant. _'So she fell for me? That explains everything.'_

He grinned and smashed the spears aside and calmly spoke to her. "Bordeuax, how did I steal your heart? And why are you so angry?" Bordeuax screeched and ropped her blade. "You stole it that day you PK'ed me! Then I actually started to freakin fall for you! I couldn't get you out of my head, and then I saw you with her! It made me so angry!"

She raised her head and tears were pouring down. "Now I have to kill you to get you out of my head! That's why I hate you!" She shot millions of AIDA spears at him, but he simply walked through them unfazed. He continued to walk towars her, and she screeched in emotional pain.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! You have to die! I need you out of my head! Every time I see you with another girl, it tears me up! I can't live with it!" Then he shot forward and was directly in front of herm his visage starign down at her. "Bordeaux, you should've said something."

Tears poured down her face, but these were tears of hope and maybe, just maybe, joy She pleaded and hoped that he was doing what she thought he was doing. "Haseo, please tell me you're thinking the same thing as me! PLEASE!"

Haseo grinned wrapped an arms around her waist. "Hell yeah I am. Go ahead. Let go. Let me see your love in all its glory." Bordeaux's eyes sparked and she leapt up and kissed him, her tongue slamming into his mouth. Haseo closed his eyes and used his other arm to pull her closer to him, deepening their kiss. AIDA paricles swirled around them, and rushed into Haseo, who welcomed them with open arms.

_'Yes, come and fill me with your love Bordeaux.' _The woman wrapped her arms around him tightly as a sphere of AIDA engulfed them.

--

From the stands, Sakaki raised an eyebrow. "Well, it would seem that Haseo is an ally after all. This should make things much easier for us."

--

Bordeaux broke their kiss and stared deep into Haseo's red eyes. When she spoke, her voice was full of fear. "Haseo, are you gonna stay with me from now on?" The adept rogue gave her devilish grin. "Would I still be here if I wasn't?" Bordeaux grinned and nuzzled her head into his muscled chest. "Good. Because there is no way in Hell I'm letting you go."

--

Kuhn's eyes widened as he saw Haseo dissapear within the AIDA sphere. "What is Haseo doing?! He's going to be infected!" Then the sphere vanished and Kuhan peered down to see Haseo holding onto Bordeaux in a hug. "Oh no!

--

The AIDA sphere vanished and the announcer saw them holding hands. "Uh, Winner Haseo?" The crowd cheered and Haseo turned to face Bordeaux. She gasped as she saw the AIDA swirling behind his eyes mixing red with black, just like her purple eyes. Haseo grinned as he came to a conclusion.

"Ya wanna join my team and beat Sirius?" Bordeaux gave him a feral grin. "Hell yeah! Now you're talking sense! She sheathed her sword and their AIDA wihtdrew to their eyes. She grinned up at her new boyfriend, a challenge in her eyes. "Ya wann go Pking after this?"

Now normally Haseo would have said no, but now he didn't give a damn abotu doing the right thing. "Fine by me!" Then Bordeaux took his hand and led him out of the now closed fence. "Come on! There's someone I want ya to meet."

--

They ran to the back of the arena temple and Haseo was surprised to see Sakaki waiting there for him. "Hello Haseo. Its good to see you again." Now Haseo usually hated the Moon Tree Leader, but something about him seemed different. Haseo soon realized what it was.

He grinned as he spoke and extended his hand. "You want AIDA, don't you?" Sakaki grinned and shook the hand of the Terror of Death." That is correct. I see that you are not an enemy anymore but a new ally. Truce?" Haseo nodded."Truce."

Ovan saw the whole thing and he smiled. "Good Haseo. Very good. You finally accepted your destiny


	2. Remorse

Haseo left the stadium hand in hand with Bordeaux, the Kestrel member nuzzling her head into his shoulder. Haseo turned to give the woman a kiss, and she grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck. But before the two could enjoy each other, Haseo saw Kuhn and Pi stalking up to them, and they looked _pissed. _The adept Rogue sighed and ran a hand through his grey hair. "What is it? I'm kinda buisy right now."

The steam gunner glared at Haseo and saw the AIDA in his eyes. "Haseo, are you crazy?! You know what AIDA can do to you!" The armored man shrugged his shoulders and Bordeaux released her hold on his neck, turning to face Pi. "Does it really look like he gives a damn? AIDA hasn't done anything to me, and I KNOW that it won't." Tick marks appeared on Pi's face and she visibly restrained herself, much to Haseo's amusement.

"What's wrong old hag? Afraid to get PK'ed?" That did it. Pi shot forward and her hands aiming for Bordeaux's throat... Only for Haseo to grab her own, Red and black eyes blazing with fury. "BIG mistake Pi. You could've gone after me, but no, you just HAD to go after my princess." Bordeaux smiled, and her face turned pink at Haseo's new nickname for her.

He snarled as she struggled ot break free of his iron grip. "You're pathetic. I don't even know how you convinced me to join G.U., but guess what? Thanks to the stunt ya just pulled, I QUIT!" Kuhn gasped in surprise, he didn't think that Haseo would go THAT far. "Haseo, you can't be serious! We need you, Atoli and Shino... That was HUGE mistake for Kuhn, as now Haseo directed his rage on _him._

He threw Pi to the ground, and turned to face Kuhn, his eyes blazing. "Don't you _dare _mention her name! I told you that I would help you guys if you found a way to bring her back! But ya haven't done A DAMN THING!"

He advanced forward and Kuhn stepped back, his face pale with fear."You guys don't do ANYTHING! It's always me! I always save you guys, always help, always! He continued to advance, until he slammed Kuhn against the wall. Then a maliciously brilliant idea hit him. "And as for Atoli, don't worry. WE have plans for her."

With that, the two stalked off, leaving Kuhan and Pi to ponder over Haseo's threat. Pi shook her head and sighed. "We need to report this to master Yata. I think we lost him for real this time." Kuhn hung his head, sadness etched into his face. "He's never coming back, is he? He's given up on our cause. We've lost him to AIDA." Pi shook her head, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"No, he seems to be controlling AIDA. It just brought his real feelings out." She sighed and stood up, brushing the dirt off. "This could be trouble. We need to keep an eye on Atoli though. I have a bad feeling about the way he said WE and PLANS." Kuhn nodded in agreement. "You're right. We can't lose Atoli as well."

--

Sakaki shook his head sadly at the sight of Kuhn and Pi forming a strategy. "Imbeciles, he just wants to live his life the way HE wants. They should know by now that holding him back will only make him angrirer." Then he paused and scratched his head._'I feel like I'm forgetting something. Something important... _His green eyes widened as he realized what it was. '_ATOLI! I forgot to check up on Atoli!'_

Berating himself for forgetting the harvest cleric, Sakaki took off to the arena stands...

--

...And found Atoli still sitting there, all alone. Sakaki's heart shattered when he saw that the blond girl was bawling her eyes out. _'I'm so stupid! I can't believe I forgot her!' _Sakaki took a deep breath and composed himself. _'Calm down, she's fine.' _He calmly walked over to the crying girl and placed his hands on her shaking shoulders and gently shook her, a worried expression on his face. "Atoli, are you allright?"

The girl dried her tears with her good hand. This did not go unoticed by Sakaki. "Atoli, what happened to your arm?" Atoli stiffened and tried to hide her arm, as wlel as the fear and sadness on her face. Sakaki smiled sadly. _'Poor girl, she's all torn up inside. She needed someone, but now Haseo's taken, and she knows it.'_

Sakaki gently moved her arm aside and grabbed her other arm, noticing the cracks. "Why is your hand cracked like this?" The girl shook her head and bit her lip, tears sprinkling in every direction. Sakaki's eyes narrowed and he shook Atoli gently once more. "Atoli, I can tell that you are upset. Please, tell me."

The girl stopped shaking her head and looked down. Sakaki saw that the girl was torn between her loyalty to her friends and her loyalty to him. So he did the only thing he could do. He wrapped his arms around her gently and pulled her head into his chest.

Atoli didn't resist the embrace, and then she simply lost it. It began softly at first, but with increasing vloume, she began to cry, the tears soaking his jacket. Sakaki closed his eyes and ket the weeping girl in his strong arms, determined to protect her from anything.

Five minutes later, Atoli finally stopped crying and Sakaki released her. She leaned back against the wall, and tears formed in her eyes again as she spoke, her voice filled with sadness and loneliness: "Its not fair. IT'S NOT FAIR! I'm useless to everybody! All I ever do is get in the way, or let everybody down!"

She took a deep breath and continued once more: "And then H-Haseo, h-h-he... he left! Now no one cares about me!" Tears poured over he face, and Sakaki flet the girls pain, and it was breakinghis heart to see the usually happy Atoli like this. "Everyone always leaves! No one cares about me! I HATE THIS!"

She was falling to pieces, and Sakaki knew it. "Atoli." The girl raised her head and sniffed. "Yes?"

Sakakismiled as he shook his head. "You're wrong." Her face broke out into a blank look. "W-What?" Sakaki grinned and continued: "I said you're wrong. Someone does care about you. He cares for you very, very much. And... He's talking to you right now."

Her face broke out into a smile. "You? You care about me?" Sakaki stepped forward and took her into his arms once more."Yes Atoli. You are extremley important to me. I care for you more than anyone or anything else." The girl nuzzled her head into his chest. "Sakaki... I want to tell you. Everything."

He frowned and spoke. "Are you sure? Kuhn and your other friends might not like it." She nodded her head vigorously. "They're not my friends. They never do anything that would make me think of them as friednds."

Sakaki nodded and tilted her head up to face him. "Then I have to tell you everything as well." She raised an eyebrow. "Is it about AIDA?" He nodded. "Yes it is. You see, AIDA infects and controls those who are weak minded. It can also be drawn to strong emotions, positive or negative. Then it amplifies those emotions. You know Haseo and Bordeaux are infected by it." She nodded, perplexed.

"But if Haseo and Bordeaux are infected, then why are they in full control of themselves?" Saku grinned and ruffled her hair as he gave her a kiss on the cheek, making the girl blush a cute pink. "Clever girl. You see, if one has a strong will, and/or a strong mind, then the AIDA will merge with them, allowing them to retain full control over their body. Understand?"

She nodded, but he saw the look in her eye and smirked. "Go ahead, I know what you're thinking." Atoli beamed up at him. "Really? It's okay?" He nodded, his green ponytail swaying up and down. "Yes, its more than okay."

With that he leaned his face down to hers. She was beet red now, but she leaned in and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and surprised him by pushing him against the wall and pressing herself against him, deepening the kiss.

One minute laterm she broke the kiss and the two were left gasping for air. Sakaki raised an eyebrow at her sudden boldness, and she giggled, nuzzilng her head into his chest. "Go on."

He smiled and continued. "As you well know, Sirius id infected by AIDA. But his mind and will are weak, and so it has taken control of him. Haseo and I ahve agreed that it needs to be removed and given to someone with a strong will, because Sirius has enough AIDA for two people, and the result is that it has made him insane. Atoli, I am going to be one of those two who receives the AIDA. Would you care to be the second?"

The girl stiffened. "What wil it do?" Saskaki chuckled. "Simple, it will make you more, how should I put it? More confident. It will give you power as well, but it will also allow you to see this WORLD in an entirely new way. What do you say?"

The girl immediatley nodded. "I'll do it."


	3. Allies

Haseo and Bordeaux gated out to Dol Dona, only to find Yata waiting for them as soon as they got there. Haseo sighed as the the man didn't seem to be in a good mood. _'This is gonna be a pain in the ass.'_

"Haseo, what did you do with Atoli?" The Adept Rogue raised an eyebrow at this accusation. "I didn't do anything to her. Now get out of my way." He stepped forward, but Yata raised a fan, blocking his path. "I am not joking. What did you do with her?" Bordeaux snarled and drew her barbed blade, pointing it at the man. "Back off, old geezer! If The Terror of Death says move, then ya better get the hell out of the way!"

Yata frowned as he saw the AIDA in their eyes. "So, Pi was right. You have been infected by AIDA." Haseo sneered and drew his scythe, the large weapon gleaming in the light. "So what? Do ya have a problem with that?" Yata shook his head sadly and spoke once more: "Haseo, you know what AIDA can do to you-

Haseo snarled and held the large weapon against Yata's throat. "Blah, blah, blah! AIDA doesn't control me, I control it! All you need is a strong mind and a strong will, and you know I have both! Now- his eyes gleamed as AIDA particles encircled him, itching for chance to get rid of Yata. "If you have nothing else to say, beat it!"

Just then he heard the sound of two people gateing in. He turned his head and smiled when he saw who they were. "Hey Atoli, what's up Sakaki?" Atoli waved and Haseo noticed her new appearance. Her blonde hair was now gone, and had become long black hair, her white hat had dissapeared, her yellow eyes remained, but her outfit now consisted of a tight red and black sleeveless jumsuit that had... green flowers on it.

while the 2nd unit leader of Moon Tree stepped forward and gave the rogue a hi-five. Then the two saw Yata, and Sakaki raised an eyebrow, while Atoli surprised Yata by snarling and drawing... not a staff, but two yellow blades.

Haseo raised an eyebrow at the Heavy blade user. "You changed her to a twin blade _and_got her Honeysuckle? You must really care about her." Atoli giggled and wrapped her arm around Sakaki's. "Yep! she chirped, "Sakaki was really nice about it! He paid for the whole thing!"

Sakaki smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "That is correct. There is nothing that I would not do for Atoli." Then he turned to face Yata, as did Atoli.

"What do you want with Atoli?" Yata recovered himself and spoke: " That is simple. I'm bringing her back to the G.U. where she belongs." He extended a hand toward Atoli. "Come on- Atoli hissed and held the blades against his neck, her yellow eye blazing with fury.

"I am NOT going back there!" Yata's eyes widened at the girl's sudden personality change. _'She's a completely different person form before. This situation is getting out of hand.' _Atoli saw that he was distracted and immediatley took her opening for all it was worth. "Now LEAVE!"

The new Twin blade slashed her weapons across in an X, immediately PKing Yata. The man never saw it coming, and the blades hit him with such intense force, that he was forced to log out. As Yata returned to the real world, he heard Haseo's voice. "We'll deal with the rest of those fools later."

--

The man sighed as he removed his goggles_. 'This is not looking good. First Haseo gets infected, then Atoli changes sides. That leaves... Endrance, Saku, Kuhn, and Pi, not counting myself. If we keep losing epitaphs, this could become a very big problem.'_

_--_

Haseo sighed as he sheathed his scythe. "That guy is a pain in the ass." Bordeaux nodded as she sheathed her own weapon. "Well, at least he's gone for now, right?" Haseo grinned and took her hand as he led her to his guild. Sakaki turned to Atoli, who shrugged, and the two followed them...

--

Silabus turned from his work as he saw Haseo enter the room. The man raised a hand in greeting and Silabus waved back. Then he saw Bordeaux and raised an eyebrow. Haseo grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist, earning him a kiss on the cheek. Silabus shook his head, a grin on his face.

Then he was even more surprised when he saw Sakaki and a girl with black hair enter as well. He extended his hand to the girl, while nodding to Sakaki in greeting. "Hello, miss. My name's Silabus." The girl giggled, and as soon as she spoke, Silabus recognized her voice."Silly! It's me, Atoli!"

Silabus did a double take, aconfused expression on his young face. "Atoli? Since when did you become a twin blade?" Sakaki spoke up now, as he wrapped an arm around her waist, the twin blade girl responding in a similar fashion. "Atoli wanted to get stronger, so I asked her if she would like to change her class. She accepted and she picked a twin blade."

Silabus nodded and pulled up chairs for each of them before turning to Haseo once more.

"Gee, I was wondering when you two would hook up. When did it happen?" Haseo grinned as the AIDA coursed through his eyes. "It happened in the Holy Palace Final. And you ain't getting any details from me." Silabus shrugged and pulled up a chair for the two of them. "So Haseo, I heard you left Raven." Hasoe hissed angrily when the Blade Brandier said the cover name of G.U.

"Yeah, I got tired of them being so annoying. Don't worry though. I'm not gonna stop being your guild master." Silabus sighed in relief and Bordeaux giggled at his reaction. "You're pretty fun to be around. Maybe I'll stick around and join this guild." Haseo raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I find it pretty hard to see you helping out beginners."

Bordeaux stuck out her tongue and flipped him the bird. "Oh yeah? We'll just see about that!" Silabus shook his head and smiled as they began to bicker. "They really are the perfect pair..."

Sakaki sighed and turned to Silabus. "I almost forgot. Atoli and I would like to request to join your guild. Is that acceptable?" Silabus's jaw dropped, but he quickly recovered. "Sure! It's great to have you two on board! Welcome to Canard!" Sakaki smiled and turned to Atoli.

"Shall we go? I did promise you that I'd take you out to dinner." Atoli raised and eyebrow. "What are we having?" Sakaki grinned and ruffled her hair. "Whatever you want , my dear." Atoli gig

--

Five mintues later...

Haseo reclined under a tree as Bordeaux rested on his muscled chest. "Haseo?" The rogue opened one eye. "Hm?"The woman reached up and placed a hand on his face. "I want to meet you in thereal world." He grinned. "Same here. Where do you live anyway?" She grinned up at him, and closed her eyes and gave him the peace sign. "I just moved to Tokyo yesterday."

Haseo's eyes widened. "Does your house have a purple roof?" Her eyes widened as well. "Yeah, how did you know?" A huge grin lit his face up like the sun. "I'm in the house next to yours. The one with the red roof." A grin lit their faces. They both leaned into a kiss and gave the other their real names.

"My real name's Ryou."

"My name's Ayane."

Haseo grinned and pulled off his goggles, as did Bordeuax...

--

The man known as Ryou shook his head as he stood up and stretched his joints, his short black spiky hair wet with sweat.. "Ow. I need to get a better chair." He placed his virtual gear on his desk, and then he heard a knock on his door and heard a familiar curse. "Hey! Are you awake or not!" Ryou's eyes widened, and he raced downstairs. "Hold it! I'm comin, I'm comin!"

He opened the door, and his jaw dropped. Standing in front of him was beautiful woman. Her eyes were green, and her long crimson hair streamed over her tan shoulders. She wore a purple tank top that was very tight agains her ample bossom, and she wore short black shorts that had the same effect with her lower body. She grinned at him, and waved a hand in front of him. When she spoke, it was not the voice of Bordeaux. It was much softer and much sweeter.

She waved her hand in front of his face again, interrupting his thoughts "Hey! Are ya gonna let me in, or am I gonna freeze my ass off out here?"

Ryou nodded numbly and let her inside. The girl was about his age, 18 just like him. She grinned when she saw the shocked look plastered on his face. She twirled around, enjoying his blush.. "You like what you see, Ryou?" Shaking himself out of his stupor, Ryou finally found his voice. "Hi, Ayane."

She swayed over to him anf she whispered seductively into is ear. "Are you just gonna stare at me or are ya gonna make a move? Unless you're scared...

THAT brought him out of it, and she saw the spark in his eyes. The next thing she knew, he picked her up Bridal style, and they were on the couch. She looked up at Ryou and grinned as she reached behind his head. "There we go, that's the man I know and love. Now... C'MERE!" She grabbed his black hair, and dragged his head down, pulling him into a rough kiss.

His eyes widened in surprise as her tongue snaked its way into his mouth. _'Holy shit, she's feisty! Well, TWO can play that game!' _He broke the kiss and placed his lips on her neck, making her moan as he softly kissed her tan skin. Not wanting to be outdone, she grabbed his shirt and tore it off and he did the same to her...

--

An hour later, Ryou woke up to find himself in his bed with Ayane nuzzled into his chest, a smile on her soft face. He smiled as he ran his hands through her long crimson hair, and marveled at her beauty. "I wish she looked like this in the WORLD... She grinned, and he noticed it. "Why are you smiling? She didnt't answer, and nuzzled into his chest. Haseo raised an eyebrow.

"Come on. Out with it." She opened up her green eyes and sat up, revealing that she only had her bra on. "Do you want me to change my character look and voice?" Haseo nodded immediately. "That would rock." She grinned and leaned in to kiss him. "You got an extra pair of M2D?"

--

Haseo logged in and felt the AIDA rush through and around him, as if it was eager to see his safe return. It bubbled around him, tickling his face and his stomach, makiing him laugh. He continued to laugh, closing his eyes and waving his hands in mock surrender. "Hey! Take it easy guys! I'm back!" The AIDA rubbed against his armor, purring like a cat.

Haseo grinned and ran his hand along the virus. "You're harmless, aren't you?" The data sent him a stream of images, all of them representing happiness: The sun, a Heart, Ayane. He laughed as he saw his girlfriend in the images. "Hey, have you guys been messing around in my head?"

The AIDA sent him a single word, and it was actually a voice, Ayane's voice. _'Maybe... _He laughed again and leaned against the gates of Dol Dona. "I don't know what Yata was blabbing about. This strain of AIDA is harmless." Then he heard the familiar sound of someone logging in, and he raised his head to see who it was.

It was Ayane. She wore the same outfit, but this time, her red hair spille dover her shoulders, and as she swayed over ot him she spoke, and it was her real voice. "Hey Haseo. You like the makeover?" He grinned and wrapped his arms arund her waist drawing her into a kiss. "Hell yeah I do!"

Then Haseo recieved an email. He groaned as he realized he had a problem. "Aw man! I know you;re my second person, but we need a third!" Ayane tapped his head and grinned. "What about Sakaki? I have his member address."

Haseo nodded immediately, knowing he could trust his new friend with his real life if need be. "Okay, send him an email." He cracked his knuckles as they stalked over to the Chaos gate. "Let's go, We have a wolf to put down."


	4. The Title Match

Haseo waited patiently at the arena counter with Ayane. (That shall be her name from now on) He knew that the match couldn't start without them so he was content to wait. Just then, Sakaki came running up the steps, out of breath. "Sorry I'm late. I had to walk Atoli home."

Haseo raised an eyebrow. "Do you two use your real names here?" Sakaki nodded and finished catching his breath. "Yes. You see Atoli and I aren't exactly the most creative with names, so we just used our own."

He sighed as Haseo shook his head in amusement. "Be nice! You're more creative than I or Atoli could ever be!" Ayane sighed and pulled herself up, and Haseo could tell that she was eager to start the match. "All right, let's register...

--

As they sat in the waiting room, Sakaki turned Haseo. "Are you sure you'll be able to extract the AIDA, _and _give it Atoli and me? I know It's going to be difficult, even with your avatar." Haseo grinned ferally as he spoke. "I can handle it, but let's have some fun with the old wolf first. I don't want him to go down to easily."

Sakaki grinned as did Ayane. "Very well Haseo. I suppose we could have _some _fun with the mut." Bordeaux drew the new blade that Haseo had given her, her purple AIDA eyes gleaming. "This is gonna be _so _much fun!" The bell rang and the three of them warped to the arena, ready to give Sirius hell.

--

The announcer's eyebrows shot up as he widened his eyes in surprise. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! It would seem that Haseo has some new teamates!" The crowd saw just who his new teammates were, and they went crzy with excitement. Haseo riase his hands and the crowd went wild for the former demon palace emperor.

They saw Sakaki, and EVERYONE was eager to see how the usually peace loving man would fight. When they saw Ayane, everyone was quite confused, as no one recognized her with her new look. The announcer quickly took care of that.

"EVERYONE! It would seem that Haseo's new teammates are none other than Ayane and Sakaki! Ayane was formerly known as Bordeaux, but she changed her name and appearance after the Final match against Haseo!" Then the announcer saw that the were two holding hands and his jaw dropped.

"And it would appear that they are dating!" The crowd's collective gasp of surprise could be heard throughout the arena. Then the saw Sakaki waving to Atoli and they began to cheer for the now VERY popular trio.

"HASEO! HASEO! HASEO!

"AYANE! AYANE! AYANE!"

"SAKAKI! SAKAKI! SAKAKI!"

The three appeared on the arena and waited for Sirius to appear. And appear he did. The tribal grappler appeared alone onthe platform and howled. Strangely, the crowd didn't cheer on the emperor. Quite the opposite! Instead they booed him an dcheered even harder for Team Haseo. This made Sirius furious, and he made his anger evident by barring his fangs at the three.

"How dare you! You came here to steal it didn't you?! Well, its mine! MINE! DO YOU HEAR ME! MIIIIIIIIIINE!" Sakaki grimaced as he drew his giant black broadsword. "Haseo, watch it. Sirius is much stronger than he appears." Haseo snorted, and drew his twin blades, the barbed blades glowing in the spotlight. "Doesn't matter. He's still dead meat."

He turned to Ayane, who brought out her own black blade and grinned like a maniac. "Let's put this dog down! It's three agaisnt one, he's screwed!"

"BEGIN!"

Sirius shot forward with inhuman speed, claws extended. "IT'S MIIINE!" Sakaki hissed in surprise and raise his giant blade to block. Sirius slammed into him, driving Sakaki back. The man snarled as the wolf contined to press his advantage, slashing and biting at him, but then the beast made a foolish mistake. He bit the blade.

Sakaki grinned as his blade started to glow. "Imbecile. Tiger blitz." Sakaki slammed his head into Sirius's face, causing the emperor to howl in pain and stagger back, then Sakaki was on him, his black sword a blur as he beseiged Sirius, while Ayane and Haseo watched as they leaned against the fence ready to jump in if need be.

The black blade swept under Sirius, heaving him into the air as Sakaki leapt up after him. Sirius roared in rage and spun in midair before shooting down at Sakaki, claws ready to tear the man apart. Sakaki saw him coming and spunt he blade in front of him like a proppellor, repelling the wolf's onslaught.

Sirius howled in anger and Sakaki laughed at his frustration. "What's wrong? Is the big bad wolf afraid of losing his throne?" Sirius gave a ferocious growl and his claws glowed black as AIDA swirled around him. Sakaki backed up, knowing that this was getting out of his leauge. "Haseo, Ayane! He's using AIDA! I'm turning the fight over to you!"

He backpedaled and the two shot forward, as did Sirius. Haseo met him head on, his twin blades cutting a gash in Sirius gut as he spun like a top and leapt up above Sirius. Ayane grabbed his clawed hands by the wrists and laughed as he struggled to free himself. "This is easy. You can beat the shit out of regular players, but when you face those who have AIDA, you're nothing but a weak willed beast."

She saw haseo draw his broadsword from high in the air and released her grip on Sirius, who had no time to move as Haseo's giant blade crashed down on his head. _'That had to hurt.' _

When the smoke cleared Sirius was holding Haseo's blade tightly, a manic smile on his wolf like face. Haseo grinned as his red eyes flashed and a red glow surrounded his body. "This is getting dull. Time to put the beast down."

His avatar appeared, but it's scythe was covered in AIDA. Skeith looked down at Sirius and pointed his scythe at him. Before he began, he spoke . "Sakaki. Tell Atoli to ge ready. she's about to get her arm healed. I'll extract the AIDA and give it to you in a sec."

The AIDA form his scythe struck Sirius, rendering him incapable of movement. Sirius howled and tried to break free, he knew what was going to happen. "NO! IT'S MINE! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!" Skeith's Data Cannon appeared on his arm, and he began charging it. "Wrong. You are too weak willed and weak minded to deserve AIDA. It shall be given to those who use it for a good cause. Now, begone."

The cannon finished charging, and the Data Drain enveloped Sirius. He screamed as the AIDA was taken from him and drawn into the giant scythe. Then he collapsed to the ground, unconcious. Haseo released his avatar and drew the AIDA into his hand, forming two AIDA seeds.

The announcer looked from Sirius to a triumphantly grinning Haseo.

"They've done it! Ladies and gentlemen, Team Haseo has become the Emperors of the Holy Palace!" The crowd went wild as the three bowed and warped out of the arena, as did Atoli.

--

Haseo grinned and slapped hi-fives with Sakaki and Atoli, the girl jumping for joy at their victory. "You kicked his ass! No one can beat you three!" Haseo did a mock bow and pulled out the two AIDA seeds, his face dead serious once more. "This is going to hurt. A LOT. If you two aren't sure about this, I suggest you back out now."

The two looked at each other and Sakaki took Atoli's paralyzed hand in his own, his face calm and resolute."Do it. We're ready.

Haseo nodded, and the red seeds glowed brightly. "Brace yourselves. This is gonna be painful." With that he drew his hands bback and slammed the AIDA seed forward, one into Atoli, and the other into Sakaki.

They both doubled over immediately, and groaned as the black dots surrounded them. Sakaki's green eyes filled with black and he took Atoli's hand. "It's okay Atoli. Be strong, AIDA doesn't want to hurt you. It's just testing you to see if you are strong enough." He grimaced in pain as the AIDA finished merging with his character.

The voice whispered into his mind. _'What is your purpose? Your goal.' _Sakaki winced again and spoke. "To keep Atoli safe, to show her that, AGH!" the pain coursed through him again, but he pressed on. "That this WORLD is a good placem that the people can be kind if you give them time."

The voice seemed satisfied as it replied: _'A wise and true answer. Not at all like that wolf. Very well, I deem you worthy.' _Sakaki felt the pain vanish and he rose to his feet and helped Atoli up. The girl was struggling and Sakaki was immediately concerned. "Atoli! I'm here, it's okay."

The girl sensed him and wrapped her arms around him. "Sakaki... it's dark. I'm scared!" He ran a hand through her long black hair, and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I know. But wherever there is darkness, there is always light." He focused, sending his mind inside...

--

Atoli despeartely looked around, but all she saw was darkness. She fell to her knees and began to cry. "Sakaki! Where are you?!" I'm scared... It's dark... and I can't find the light!"

"ATOLI!"

Her head turned as she saw a figur robed in light. It was Sakaki. He reached out for her, a beacon in the dark. "Atoli, take my hand. I'll help you find your light." She reached up and grabbed his hand, leaping into his arms. "Sakaki!" He held her tight and soothed her cries and sobs.

"Sh, it's allright Atoli. I'm here, and I'm never letting you go." He leaned down and kissed her, and there was blinding flash of light...


	5. More AIDA & Weapons

Haseo and Ayane shut their eyes against the bright flash of green light. When it cleared, Sakaki and Atoli stood before them, their green and yellow eyes swirling with AIDA. Sakaki grinned down at Atoli and the girl blushed and covered her face with _both_ hands.

She gasped and looked at her hand. "My hand! It's all healed, and the cracks are all gone! This is great" Sakaki smiled and placed a gloved hand on her soft face. "See Atoli? I told you that you could do it. All you had to do was believe." The twin blade shook her head and nuzzled into his chest, a smile on her face,

"No, I just needed someone to believe in me. Thank you Sakaki, thank you so much." Haseo grinned at teh sigth of the two and wrapped an arm around Ayane's waist. "Aw, they're so cute together." Ayan wrapped an arm of her own around him as well, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, those two are definitely meant to be together." Ayane stiffened as she saw Kuhn and Endrance out of the corner of her eye. "Heads up guys. It's the loser brigade." Haseo sighed, as did Sakaki, and the four AIDA users turned to face the two epitaph users. Kuhn saw them and headed their way, while Endrance waved, and Haseo nodded his head in greeting. "What's up Endrance? Where are you two going?"

The Blade Brandier smiled. "HIdden Forbidden Sacrament. Would you four care to come?" Kuhn shot him a look, but Endrance gave him a perplexed one, then relaized why he was so angry. "Kuhn, these four are good friends of mine. Therefore, I can invite them if I please." He then gave Haseo his member adress.

The steam gunner had a bad feeling about this, and then he saw Atoli and Sakaki. "Atoli?! When did you and Sakaki get infected with AIDA?!" Sakaki snorted and Atoli replied for him, her tone that of one who is _very_ annoyed. "Just now, loser. What's it to ya?"

Kuhn was shocked at her sudden personality change. "Why are you acting like this? This isn't you, it's AIDA influecing- Sakaki smirked, and AIDA streamed around him. "Atoli, do you want me to get rid of this loser?" Endrance hel up his hands in a placating gesture as he saw the AIDA stream around the other three as well.

"Now, everyone calm down Let's just go to the area." He turned to Kuhn, his gaze hard. "I think you should leave. They seem to dislike you severely." Kuhn sighed and logged out. "Fine. But don't let them touch anything."

Endrance turned his head as the AIDA calmed down. He beckoned for them to follow him. "Shall we go?"

--

Once they arrived in the area, they all gasped once they saw their surroundings. They were on a platform, and the platform was all that was there. The rest of the area, it extended into nothingness. Haseo glanced around and saw 8 platforms, each one containing a weapon that was surrounded in a red barrier.

He turned to Endrance, a quizzical expression on his face. "What's with the weapons?" The Blade Brandier shrugged. "I do not know. Perhaps we should- He saw Haseo walk over to the scythe that was sealed and simply rip it outof the barrier, grinning triumphantly. "Never mind."

Atoli saw the elegant and curved white broadsword and immediatley tried to yank it out of the barrier, but it wouldn't allow her hand to go through. "Hey! Let me in!" She tried repeatedly to smash the barrier, but to no avail. She fell to her knees and pouted. "That's not-

Haseo saw her plight and smiled. He walked over to the barrier and removed the broadsword and gave it to Atoli. "Here ya go." She grinned up at him and gave him a quick hug before running over to Sakaki.

--

Ayane stared at the long red blade in awe, she had to have that sword! She turned to Haseo a pleading look on her face. "Please?" Haseo nodded and reached into the barrier. This time it resisted, and he snarled as he tried toyank it out. "C'mere you! You're comin out of there wheter ya want to or not!"

With a tearing sound, he yanked the blade free and stumbled back. After catching his breath he turned to his redhead girlfriend and offered her the blade. "Here ya go." She grinned as she took the crimson blade and sheathed it before wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a fierce kiss.

--

Sakaki was staring at a pair of twin blades, when Atoli tapped him on the shoulder. The moon tree leader turned to see the girl holding out a giant white broadword to him, a smile on her face. "Here Sakaki! I got this out of the barrier, just for you!" The green eyed man smiled as he took the maginificent blade.

"Thank you Atoli." Then he reached into the seal and pulled out the two blades. they looked like Honeysuckle, except they were jet black. He handed them to Atoli, who marveled at their beauty. "These are for me? I can really keep these?" Sakaki lauged out loud and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Of course. That's why I gave them to you. Devoted Affection, remember?" She nodded, then her eyes widened. "S-Sakaki! Behind you!" The blade user spun around just in time to catch a black arm on his new broadwsword. He looked up and sighed in relief when he saw who it was.

"Oh, it's only you. Ovan." Haseo turned his head at the mention of the name. "Ovan?" The steam gunner sighed and waved towards Haseo. "Hello, Haseo. It's been awhile. The rogue's eyes widened as he saw Ovan's black arm and hooked scythe on it.

"When did you get AIDA?" A sad smile appeared on Ovan's face and single tear fell from his eye. "Six months ago. It was then that Shino... Haseo gasped as he realized everything. "Ovan, all this time it was you... The man nodded and hung his head. "It was to strong for me then... and I... I couldn't control it...

He covered his face in his hands, and Haseo was shocked to actually see the usally emotionless man... actaully crying. "I couldn't do anything! I tried so hard to control it, but it was just too mutch for me!" His AIDA swirled around him slowly and Haseo heard it's voice. _'I'm sorry..._

Haseo looked around, and an Idea formed within his head. "Ovan, I have an Idea. Just give me a sec. He changed into his avatar, and shot up into the air. He was looking for a certain signal, but there were so many, he was having difficulty hearing it. Then he heard her voice "Ovan... _'AHA! I found her!' _He raced towards it, determined to bring this person back for Ovan.

He found her quite easily, just floating there in the data. He reached into the stream, and forcefully yanked her out, "Come on, Shino. There's someone who wants to see you again...


	6. The Spell

Ovan's head snapped up as he saw Skeith descending towards him with a very familiar figure in his large arms. "Shino!" His eyes filled with tears of joy as Hasoe set her down on the ground and she wobbled on her feet. Then she saw Ovan, and she smiled. "Hey Ovan. It's been awhile." Ovan crossed the distance between them instantly, and grabbed Shino in a hug, his orange eyes overflowing with tears. I'm sorry Shino! I'm so sorry!"

She smiled as he cried into her shoulder, her green eyes full of warmth. "Hey, take it easy. You didn't have control yet- she ran her hand over his hooked scythe, and the AIDA purred and bubbled around her as she gently rubbed it. She smiled as she turned back to the steam gunner, the AIDA still purring and rubbing against her.

"See? It's harmless now." Ovan dried his tears and sighed happily. "You always did look on the bright side." She leaned forward, and the two kissed, after six months they had forgotten what it was like. It was like fireworks went off in their heads all over again, and they enjoyed their special moment.

Haseo sighed and motioned for the others to follow him as he headed for the chaos gate. "Come on, lets give these guys some privacy."

--

Yata slapped his forehead in exasperation as Kuhn gave him the report on Endrance. "Unbelievable. So you mean to tell me that he willingly went with them and told you to leave?" Kuhn nodded his expression grim. "Yata, this is getting bad. If we keep losing Eptiaphs to AIDA, then we- Yata raise a hand cutting him off. "Yes I know. They have: The Terror of Death Skeith, The Rebirth, Corbenik, The Mirage of Deceit, Innis, and now the Temptress Macha.

Kuhn raised his own hand and counted off. "So that leaves us with: The Avenger Tarvos, The Propagation Magus, The Machinator Gorre, and The Prophet Fidchell." Just then he received and email, and his eyes widened as he saw who it was from. "Yata, I just got an email from Ovan! It's a video message. Do you want to see it?"

Yata nodded. "Yes, it could give us some very valuable information. Play it." The lights dimmed as it played.

(video)

Haseo turned around and looked at the slightly crooked camera, a smile on his face. "Hey Ovan hold it still!" The camera readjusted to fix the angle problem and now he scowled. "What's up losers? We have something to show you." He stepped out of the way, and Shino replaced him in the camera's field of view. She smiled and waved at Ovan before speaking:

"Hey! Guess what?" The camera panned out to reveal the altars, all but one of them stripped of their weapons. Yata glared at Kuhn, who hung his head in shame at letting them getting the powerful weapons. Now Sakaki and Atoli appeared in the camera's view. The two were hand in hand, and had smug grins on their faces. Sakaki was the one to speak first. "Well, so Raven is actually G.U.? I'm sure everyone would LOVE to hear about this." Atoli merely stuck out her tongue and flipped them the bird. Then the camera panned around to reveal Endrance, AIDA swirling around him. Saku squealed with joy as soon as she saw him, knowing that he was alright after all. "Master En!"

The Blade Brandier saw the camera pointed towards him and walked up to Ovan, a grin on his face. "Hello everyone. In light of the recent information given to me by Ovan, I hereby quit the G.U." Yata and the others were furious now, but what they saw next stopped their fury cold. The camera then turned to face Ovan. When they saw his uncovered arm wrapped gently anround Shino, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Then they became even MORE confused, when he spoke. "Now do you see? AIDA is harmless. It just depends on the willpower of whoever receives it. If the will is weak and selfish, then the AIDA itself becomes corrupted, and as a result damages the network." His eyes narrowed as everyone appeared in the camera's view now. "Yata, should you continue to try and exterminate AIDA, then we will have no choice but to... intervene.

With that, the video faded to black.

Yata slaped his forehedad in exapseration and turned to address the other. "Well, it would appear- He then noticed that they were missing someone, and beneath the blue lightof the Serpent of Lore, he paled as he spke, the worry evident in his deep voice. "Wait a minute. Where's Saku?" Pi did a double take, and paled as well when she also found that the shadow warlock had dissapeared. The tribal grappler groaned and slapped her forehead."You've got to be kidding! Not her too!"

--

Saku had taken off the moment she recognized the area, and quickly put in the area words. She tapped her foot impatiently as the warp began. "Come on! Hurry up!" Then the warp finished loading, and she arrived in the area that Endrance had been in, but there was no one there at all. She gave a sad sigh as she realized that everyone had left. "Oh man! I missed him again!" Angrily stamping her foot, she prepared to log out, but then she saw the last altar, the one that contained a spell book.

The book seemed to call to her, and Saku was insintively drawn to it. She ran a hand over the red barrier, and marveled at the beauty of the red and blue book. "Wow, it's so pretty... then her hand accidently passed through the barrier, and touched the spell book. Intstinctively, she wrapped her fingers around its velvet cover, not waning to let it go. Then book glowed a soft yellow, and then of it's own accord, forced the hand holfdng it out, while it was still holding onto the book.

Saku gave ashriek of surprise, and fell on her butt, the book landing on her lap and opening to a certain page. Saku raised an eyebrow, and peered at the page. "Huh? How did- as if in response, a section of words glowed red, and she read them out loud, not thinking of the consequences. "For the one that I truly love, may you see me as your everything all above?" She put a finger to her head as she pondered what the words could mean. What is it? A spell-

Then several things happened at once. The book glowed orange, and two portions of AIDA shot out, one going out via the Chaos gate, the other hovering around her curiously. Saku shrank back in fear, as did the bubble of AIDA. Saku couldn't help but giggle at the data's skittish reaction. "Hey, are you copying me?" The AIDA swirled around her, and snet her images of happiness, and then one word, in her own voice. "Yes."

Saku giggled again, and reached out to touch the little black sphere. Then, much to her surprise, the sphere simply melted into her hand. She looked around for it, but it was nowhere to be found. Then she heard her own voice again. "Hi!"

"Hey! What are you doing inside my- then the book rose into the air and glowed blue, grabbing her attention as it continued to shine brightly. "Hey what's- then a stream of blue data shot out of the book and into her, the process happening in an instant and surrounding her in a cloud of steam. Saku gapsed as felt herself changing, but it was so slow and sublte, and thanks to the shtick steam, she had no idea what was happening, and the AIDA was quite curious as well. "What?" It asked,and Saku shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head. "This is a REALLY weird day."

Then, the cloud finally faded away, and Saku rose to her feet, noticing that she seemed taller. "Okaaaaay. This is geting weirder and weirder. I wish I had a mirror- Then as if on cue, a mirror appeared in fron tof her, and her jaw dropped at her new appearance, her surprised shout echoing throughout the area. "HOLY COW!"

She now loked like a 16-year old, and she wore the clothes like one. Her hat was now gone, and her short blnd hair had lengthened slightly, coming down around her ears. She now wore a pair of striped blue green jeans that fit her snugly, and she wore a black tanktop, that strained against her now MUCH larger ...assets. She reached around, and felt the spellbook strapped around her waist. then she notice her eyes. They were black with red pupils and filled with AIDA.

The teenager giggled and spun around on one heel, clearly happy with her new body. "Wait till Master En gets a look at me now!"


	7. The Infection

The AIDA flowed through the data, lookign for someone, anyone with powerful emotions. The AIDA bubbled sdaly as it was not havign very much luck, the blue streaks of data blurring past it had no strong emotions or anything. Then a red streak shot past, showing someone with a VERY strong emotion. The AIDA bubbled happily, and chased after the data...

--

Taihaku sneered in to the face of another arena combatant as he plunged his sword into the man's gut, instantly PKing him. The Sage Palace Emperot tossed the man's corpse onto the cold arena floor and raised his giant sword in victory as the corwd booed his vicious approach. He eagerly looked into the angry stands, the expression on his face wild, as was his usually calm voice. "MORE! I want more power! Bring me more opponents!"

Then the AIDA finally found him, and it bubbled curiously over his head and asked him a question. "Why do you want to be so strong?" Taihaku's head snapped up, and his black eyes glared at the AIDA. He howled widly up floating data. "You! Fight me now!" The AIDA moved back and forth, clearly indicating a no. It began to float upwards, in search of one who wasn't so bloodthirsty.

Taihaku growled angrily as the crowd laughed at his 'conversation' with tha data. Thoughts of rage and hatred filled his mind and he had only one thought. _'No one make a fool of me! NO ONE!_ With a roar of fury he leapt up high above the ascending AIDA, his sword raised high over his head." I SHALL MAKE YOU!" With that, he brought the blade down onto the AIDA, and unknowingly, sealed the data into his blade, corroding it.

Taihaku instantly felt the rush of power as the AIDA unwillingly flowed into him. His eyes turned red an black as he felt the rush of power. He landed on the ground, and looked at his sword, the AIDA practically hissing at him as it was corrupted. He threw his tan head back and laughed out loud, his laughs bordering on psychotic. "YES! THIS IS TRUE POWER! NOW NO ONE CAN EVER BEAT ME!" He continued to laugh, unaware of Sakaki watching him from the stands.

The heavy blade user sighed, he had just come here to have some fun and watch a good fight, now he had to deal with an AIDA problem. Then to make matters more complicated, he felt the AIDA within him resonate, indicating that someon with pure emotions had joined with it. He raised an eyebrow at this and asked the obvious question.

"Where is it?" The AIDA sent him a happy image, glad to know that it had found another person with such positive emotions._ 'It's at Hidden Forbidden Sacrament.' _Sakaki mentally thanked the data, before sending short mails out to the others. _'Everyone, come to Hidden Forbidden Sacrament. Somebody has the book.'_

_--_

Saku was lying one her stomach on a mattres, her head propped up on a pillow and a soda in her hand as she eagerly eagerly read the velvet book, amazed at all the spells that were in it. "Wow! There's a spell for just about everything in here!" Then she heard the sound of multiple people logging into the area, and she raised her eyes form the book to see Haseo and Endrance in front of her.

She grinned up at Endrance and spoke as she closed the book and sat up. "Hey Master En! You like the new look?" Endrance scratched his head, as he didn't recognize her from her new look and now more womanly voice. "Have we met?"

Haseo's red eyes widened in surprise as he recognized that this teenager was Saku. _'What the heck?! When did she change like- _Then he saw the book in her hands. _'Ah, she must be the one who got the book out. I guess she was th eone menat to have it.' _Then Endrance raised a blue eyebrow as he saw the AIDA circling around her, purring like a cat. Endrance was the first to speak, as he was suddenly intrigued by this mysterious girl.

He and leaned in close and lifted her head up with one hand, examining her face closely. "Who are you? I feel as if I've met you before... Saku grinned as she realized that the spell she had accidenlty said must've doen something to him as well. "Gee, I don't know." She shook his hand off her face and leaned in close to him, a grin on her soft lips as she whispered seductively to him. "You wanna get to know me better? I think I know how."

Endrance raised a blue eybrow as he found himself _very _attracted to this mysterious girl. _'How is this happening? I only just met her, and already I want to just take her in my arms and..._

Saku finished his though for him, and grabbed his head in her hands. She had a wide grin on her face as she saw the Blade Brandier blush at how close they were. "Here, its easy." With that, she pulled his head forward, yanking him into a kiss that the man couldn't bring himself to resist. Without even thinking, the blue haired man wrapped his arms gently around her curved waist.

Saku was practically shouting for joy in her head as she wrapped her slender arms around his neck in return. _'YES! Master En is finally mine!' _

--

Atoli and Ovan were sitting on the steps of Mac Anu and sharing a drink when they received Sakaki's message, and to make matters worse, they saw Taihaku shoot past them, the AIDA infected man murderously going after an innocent harvest cleric, the blade user hwoling for the scared girl's blood. "Come back here woman! Our fight isn't done yet!"

The girl screamed and ran faster, the man hot on her heels. Ovan sighed and turned to Atoli and the two sighed as they rose to their feet. Ovan removed his lockbox from his arm, and the AIDA burbled happily as the daylight shined on it, waking it up from its nap. "Him?" It asked curiously, it's scythe pointing toward Taihaku. Ovan nodded and the AIDA wirled around his hand, giving him a scythe to use.

Atoli drew her black honeysuckle and licked her lips in anticipation, her red eyes gleaming. "Allrgiht! Let's go get that big jerk!" With that, the two of them immediatley took off after Taihaku...

--

The girl woke up on the cold hard floor, opening her now red eyes, as she shook her head, her red hair being tossed back and forth. She held her hand to her head in a flash of pain. "Ouch. Where am I?" Then she remembered everything that had happened, and she leapt to her feet. "Haseo! I've gotta go find him!

**YUP! ALKIAD IS BAAAAAAAACK! **


	8. She's Back!

Ovan saw Taihaku chase the cleric down and alley, and motioned to Atoli. The black haired twin blade nodded, and they tore down the alley, determined to catch the crazed emperor. But they had taken no more than five steps down the alley when the heard a piercing scream and knew that Taihaku had caught up with her. Ovan cursed under his breath._'Damn, another lost one.'_

They rounded a corner in the alley, and had to slam on their brakes to avoid running into Taihaku, who still had the poor girl impaled on his red and white blade, Maxwell. Sensing their prescence, the tan man tossed the girl off his sword, ingoring the blue glow that surrounded her as she began to fade away, becoming a lost one. He turned to face the two AIDA users, his face that of man gone completley insane. Ovan's AIDA arm hissed angrily as it saw that the man had forecefully contained AIDA within his blade and was keeping it priosner. It made the data furious to see that the man had deliberately imprisoned its companion, without giving the consequences of such an action a thought.

"Not nice. He's not nice." it hissed in Shino's voice, before pleading with Ovan and Atoli to free its companion. "Please get it out. It wants out." Ovan nodded and pulled out his other weapon, a large sword like gun. Then Taihaku got a good look at the two of them, and his eyes widened in surprise a he saw that the two were from Moon Tree.

He pointed his large sword directly at them, the massive blade bubbling with corroded AIDA. He sounded just as crazy as Sirius when he spoke: "SO! MOON TREE WANTS TO STEAL IT TOO?! WE'LL I WON'T LET YOU! I'LL SLAUGHTER EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU IN THE ARENA!" Ovan raised a blue eyebrow at this unexpected reaction. _'He's gone mad with power. Just like Sirius did.'_

He adjusted his orange glasses as he spoke, trying to keep cool. "You intend to make us wait a week before fighting you? What's in it for us? After all- the AIDA in his left arm was furious now, it's scythe trying VERY hard to get at the man. Atoli spoke up now, finishing his sentence as she drew her black Honeysuckle, her tone that of one who is confident of their victory.

"As you can see, the two of us could easily tear you apart right here and now, so why should we wait a week?" Taijaku grinned and pointed his sword upward. "Simple. If you don't wait- a large cloud of corroded AIDA swirled over the blade and Atoli gasped as she realized how much damage he could do to 'The World' with that much corroded data. Her voice was shaky with fear as she shouted at the crazed emperor. "What are you doing?! You'll cripple the network if you release that much infected data!"

Taihaku nodded, actually sounding sane now. "I know. It will damage 'The World' beyond any hope of repair, not that I care. So are you fools willing to wait?" Ovan grumbled under his breath, and Atoli took a step forward, but was held back by the steam gunner. Ovan shook his head and gently pulled her back. His tone was that of barely surpressed rage, and you could see it on his face.

"No. It's too risky to try and take him out in one hit. We can't risk having the entire world infected with corroded AIDA." Atoli sighed, sounding defeated. "You're right." She angrily stamped her foot, and glared daggers at the emperor.

"I hate this. she mumbled under her breath, and Ovan nodded in silent agreement. _'I know exactly how you feel. I hate feeling powerless too.' _He turned to Taihaku, his malice for the man evident on his face. "Fine. We'll wait one week."

--

Haseo gave an exaggerated sigh as he saw Saku and Endrance kiss. _'Jeez, get a room you two.' _He turned as he heard the sound of two people logging in. One of them was Ayane, the other was Alakid. His eyes widened in shick as he saw the AIDA in the twin blades eyes. "Alkai?! How are-when did you-? AIDA!"

Ayane giggled at the reaction of her boyfriend. "Ryou, I think she has a crush on you." Haseo paled. "Hold on a second. You said- Ayane grinned and crossed the distance between them. "I did, but I get to see you in the real world." Alkaid stomped her foot at this and finally spoke. "HEY! Where do you live?!" Haseo turned to Ayane, who shrugged "Go ahead. I doubt she lives there anyway."

The two spoke at the same time. "I live in Tokyo." Alkaid grinned at this. "Lemme guess. The red and the purple roof's right?" Both of them paled as she said this. "How did you- "I live in the house across the street. The one with the blue roof." Haseo glared at Ayane, sending her a private message as he did so.

"_Still think its a good idea now?!' _

_'Ah, big deal. This way I can get you AND her... LOL' _

Haseo blushed as he read the text message. "Hey what does that mean?" Ayane giggled and traced a finger up and down his chest. "Oh nothing. Nothing at all." Haseo shook his head in exasperation, before Alkaid butted in, her face shy. "Um... Haseo... I... er...well...

Ayane sighed in exasperation. "Are ya gonna kiss him or not?


End file.
